Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-11-11
THE BOMB THR0WERS.
A BIT OF HISTORY IN CONNECTION
WITH THE ANARCHIST TRIALS.
A Cud for sympathetic Simpletons to
Chew-The Makers of the Bombs, the
Throwers and Those who Egged
Them on, All Equally Guilty.

impressed with the idea that the con.
demned men have done nothing to deserve
hanging These impressonable people say
that the seven men not only not threw
the bomb but they had no idea whatever
as to who was the thrower, and that if
they did say in their speeches that police
men should be murdered and capitalists
shot and the town burned down that this
constituted no crime but was simply the
exercise of free speech that had not the
police come over to the meeting there
would have been no trouble and that he
socialists and anarchists had no idea of
troubling anything or any body.
These men were tried not for conspiracy
but for murder. According to the laws of
the State of Illinois, there are no such
things as accessories before the fact-the
law only recognizes principals. Judge
Gary's ruling was that if the bomb throw
ing was the result of the conspiracy in
which these men were engaged then they
were rs guilty ae the man who actually
threw the bomb aud deserved the same
punishment. Regret has often been ex-
pressed that the thrower of the bomb, Ru-
dolph Schnaubelt, Schwab's brother-in-
law, could not be here to share the fate of
his companions, and none regret this
more than the police themselves.
There was a society here called the In
ternational Wurkingmen's association,
the object of which was to overthrow soci-
ciety and create a revolution. This asso
citation was divided into a number of
bodies, iclnuding governing or central
committee. the Lehr und Weir Verein
IAN armed body and several groups"
members of which practiced the throw
ing of bombs as well as the making of
them, experimental with dynamite and
raised money to give Lingg in order that
he might buy dynamite and make expert
ments. Lingg was the bomb maker of
~ l..
was a bomb that Spies had on his desk in
the Arbelter Leitung and used to show to
the reporters who came to interview him.
This was called the car bomb, and after
ward the Spies bomb in honor of the
man who had it introduced into Chicago
That it is a terrible and deadly weapon
was amply demonstrated the night of the
Haymarket riot.
This bomb is composed simply of two
seml-globular shells fastened together by
a bolt with head on one end and nut
on the other, the interior being filled
with dynamite. One of these nuts was
taken from the body of tailor named
Hahn who was wounded the night of the
explosion and found to correspond exactly
with those of the bomb found in Lngg's
trunk after his arrest. Noone, however,
presumes to claim that Ilngg was not the
bombmaker, and lie does not deny 1t him.
self but mercy is asked for those who
aided and abetted him in his work of
making these deadly missiles just because
they did not throw the bomb themselves
that fatal night. The metals of which the
bomb was composed included lead-the
greater part--with a small quantity of tin,
and traces of antlmony, iron and zinc.
Spies had always cOntended that the
bombs made of various kinds of metal
were superior to those constructed only
of one.
Lingg had been in this country about
some time before that occurrence he went
to the house of a carpenter named Will
liam Seliger, at No. 422 Sedgwick street,
to lodge and board. Some six weeks pre-
vious to the 4th of May, 1886. he began the
manufacture of bombs, having previously
brought dynamite there He experiment
Ell freely with dynamite and often went
out into the woods, north of the city and
blew up trees and rocks, ''just to keep
his hand in" Lingg also experimental
with gas-pipe bombs, but the "Spies"
bomb was his favorite. In making these
bombs Lingg was assisted by Selinger and
two other men, and on the trial Seliger
confessed the whole business. SO wratby
did the socialists and anarchists become,
when they heard that Seiger had told on
them, that they tried to get at him to kill
him and the police were forced to run him
out of town for awhile for his own
safety.
The making of the bombs by Lingg was
under the auspices of the International
association and in furtherance of its pur-
poses Tuesday evening, May 4, 1856, the
night of the Haymarket meeting, Lingg
and Seliger took whole trunk full OF
bombs from Seliger's house to Neff's Hail.
which is at No. SIS Clybourne avenue, and
when the trunk was opened there, sew
eral men came forward aud took bombs.
The Haymarket meeting was to have be-
gun at 7;30, but did not open until nearly
9oclock. 1t was about S O'Clock when
Lingg and Seliger brought the bombs to
Neff's Hall.
Sunday, May ., there was meeting of
the Lehr and Wehr-Verein at Bohemian
Hall on Emma street, and Engel and
Fisher were there Eugel submitted a
plan OF his own conception to the effect
that when 1t came to conflict between
the Northwestern groups and the police,
bombs should be thrown into the various
police stations, while the ritlemen of the
Lehr and Weir Verein should shoot down
the policemen as they came out of the
stations; after that they should make
their way to the heart of the city, where
the main conflict was to occur. Informer
Waller was the witness from whom this
fact was learned, for he was at the Emma
street meeting and knew everything that
was gong on. Monday evening, May 3,
there was meeting of the Lehr and
Weir Verein at Greit's Hall, in the base
fueuL, anu PudruS were SUdulOueu III lrOnI
and behind the hall to prevent unwelcome
intrusion. At this meeting Engel's plan
was adopted, and the signal for the attack
upon the police was to be the German
word "Ruhe," which was to be
published in the Arbetter- Zeitung.
This was to indicate that the
social revolution had begun. The Hay
market square meeting was arranged for
10y Fischer, who was employed by Spies
an his Office, and when the word "Ruhe"
appeared in the Arbeiter Zeitung, of which
Spies was editor, it appears that the
manuscript showed that Spies wrote it.
At the Monday night meeting Rudolph
Schnaubelt, the thrower of the bomb, sug
gested that comrades in other cities should
be communicated with so that the revolu-
ton should be begun in other cities beside
Chicago.
Spies, Schawb, Fielden, Parsons and the
others knew all about theliaymarket meet
ing and what it was called for; they also
knew that if the police were marched
there with the intention of dispensing it
there would be serious trouble and the
loss of many lives. These men had re-
peatedly advised the workingmen to arm
them sci VpS aud shoot down the notice and